To elaborate: HD DVD is a completely new format for movies. The movies on an HD DVD is stored at 1080p (high-definition).

HD DVDs cannot play in a regular DVD player. (To be exact, they do sell "combo" discs that has a regular DVD on one side and HD DVD on the other side. The HD DVD side will not play on regular DVD players.)

HD DVD and Blu Ray are the two competing new formats for pre-recorded HD content on optical discs. They are not compatible with each other, though LG does sell a hybrid player that will play both formats.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HD_DVD

god damn that is ridiculous. here is a better question to help me. What will the sound quality difference be to an average person between a $3000 sound system and a $500 one?

The biggest difference will be the bass. A $500 system will have either no subwoofer or one that can't play the sound effects very loudly and is very boomy when playing music.

The high end will also sound 'tinny'. Listening to good music on a cheap system is just pretty painful.

Frankly - your best best for sound is to hunt on Audiogon.com and get some decent speakers like the Von Schweikert Vr1's for say 500-600, get a center channel and some decent small rear fills - all can be done for like 1500 - the difference will be huge.

I am looking into getting my first big screen TV and have pretty much settled on a Sharp 46" LCD (LC46D62U at a nice 1080p with 1920x1080 resolution).

My next problem is trying to figure out what to put it on. We currently rent so a wall-mount is really not practical. The other important consideration is that we have a 17-month old running loose in the house.

Anyone know of a reasonably priced piece of furniture that will hold a 46" TV and keep the components safe from the grasping hands of a toddler?

I bought this tv on a whim today, what is the threads consensus on it?

http://www.bestbuy.ca/catalog/proddetail...amp;catid=24558

My place is finally set up. Will post pics as soon as I get back there (in about a week). Bottom line - looks and sounds awesome. Thanks, guys.

just went with the panasonic 58thpx600u 58 inch plasma. The picture pops off of the screen, the glare problems I've heard about are non-existant unless in very bright light, and it even has great sound until I get my system set up. Not gonna post pics until i get the final set up and the HD box from Direct TV comes. If anyone else gets a plasma from panasonic, the settings right out of the box are dreadful and I highly highly suggest looking on the AVSforums for advice on how to set it. Makes an absolute world of difference. Also, wait for 100 viewing hours before jacking up the brightness and picture settings to virtually eliminate any worry of burn-in.

James

Looks fine but I suspect you could do better for the same money elsewhere.

james

got a 42PX75U on saturday. so far i am very happy with it. looks a lot better than it did in showrooms, possibly because the showrooms had crappy sources. haven't tried it out with DVDs yet.

Lots of showrooms also don't have "ideal" settings for brightness, color, etc. (bright TVs are thought to sell better than less bright TVs, so some store boost the brightness of certain models. Plus, your average Best Buy is much brighter than your house, so you won't need it as bright as they put it.

Be sure to search AVS forum to find ideal settings for your set.

James,

Just clicked the link and saw it is listed for $1599 on the website. I got it for $1365 (not including the $369 4 year warranty I also purchased)

One other question I have for you guys: I bought an HDMI cable which was $200, when the rogers HD guy came to install and set up my programming, he provided me with cables (red, green, blue I think as well as white/red.) He said that the store s elling the cables for that much is a scam, and the HDMI cable performs 'at best 5% better than the 5 cable combo.' Who is telling it like it is? The best buy salesman, or the rogers employee?

Thanks!

$200 for an HDMI cable is insane. Take it back ASAP and buy the same cable for $21 (US): http://monoprice.com/products/product.as...=1&format=2

As for the other question, it depends on what you're plugging your cable box into.

The 5 cable deal is two parts: red, green, and blue for component video and Red and white cables for audio.

Component versus HDMI is a touchy subject. Some people see a difference. Some don't. Since you actually have both, might as well do the comparison yourself. If you think HDMI is better, return the $200 cable and get the $21 cable. If you don't see a difference, return the $200 cable and use the cable that Rogers gave you.

As for audio, it depends on your setup. If you're using a receiver, you need some way to transmit Dolby Digital signals from the cable box to the receiver. HDMI does this, but the red and white cables don't. If you decide to forego HDMI, you'll need to get an optical digital cable to go from the cable box to the receiver. (If you're just hooking the sound up to your TV, the red and white cables will be fine).

there is a heap of discussion on the interweb about hdmi vs component but this page seemed to be a convincing analysis of the issues involved.

You guys have been a huge help.

Here is the cable he sold me:

http://www.bestbuy.ca/catalog/proddetail...amp;catid=23216

Why would it be $177 and the other $20?

Monster is infamous for overcharging on its cables. Basically, they've built a name as a high-end cable manufacturer and have been gradually increasing prices over the years mainly because they can. The theory being that a person spending $3000 on a TV might not quibble over a $200 cable he is told is necessary. But now that last year's $3000 TV is being sold at $1200 or less, that play may backfire.

because



whatever you do, don't buy that Monster Surge Protector that everybody tries to sell

OK, looking for a 32-42 incher. For the bedroom, but could end up in the main room in the conceivable future. Budget isn't a big deal but I'd like to keep it under $1500.

I'm looking at the 37" Sharp. My girlfriend likes the 32" (she works at an AV store), but I'm wondering if maybe there are better deals/something critically wrong with the Sharp.

Here is a link to a good article that talks about the cable quality issue.

I used the Monoprice cables and they have been fine. The thing about HDMI or DVI is that they are digital signals. As long as they work, you don't lose signal quality. If they don't work you will see "sparklies" or huge chunks of information missing. If you have a 25 foot run you might want a higher quality cable. For a 6 or 10 foot run, I don't think it matters.

I would get a 42" plasma. Both Samsung and Panasonic can be had for less than $1500.

Interestingly, I just saw one of these today. I didn't care for it because it has a serious sweet spot issue. If you get off of dead center (both horizontally and vertically) the picture becomes bad in a hurry (dark, recessed, hard to see.)

Is there a good, UP TO DATE resource on the web for getting the modern basics down on all this stuff? I went to the avsforum and all the FAQ links seem to be broken. I'm trying to sort through this insane information overload, most of which is yesterday's news. Sometimes I find what looks like a good website, and after 15 minutes I realize it was written in 1961. I'm having a hard time sorting all this stuff out. Is there a really well organized site that explains everything and is pretty much kept up to date? Something like a Tom's Hardware is for computers, or something like that.

You're right that it is hopelessly impossible to find information on avsforum. But I haven't found a single resource that replaces it.

Probably your best bet is to ask questions. And you'd probably be better off asking here, because if you ask on avsforum, it'll be pushed off the front page in a couple of hours.

So what do you want to learn about first? Probably displays?

Quick and dirty rundown:

Displays:
LCD - 720p or 1080p possible.

Pros:
- 1080p much cheaper than plasma
- good for PC monitors
- available in smaller sizes (32-37")
- screen work well in rooms with a lot of light/reflection
Cons:
- color saturation not as good as plasma
* black levels/contrast not as good as plasma
(* I believe this is the worst part about LCD's)

Myths answered
- Power consumption is almost identical to plasma's if you look at the actual operating numbers. Don't be fooled into thinking lcd's save a ton more power
- Weight for both is fairly light - once it's in place who cares
- Burn is is pretty much a non-issue for plasmas these days
- On a 1080p display, 1080i and 1080p sources will actually be EXACTLY identical in almost all cases
- Satellite TV outputs 720p/1080i, not 1080p
- Do not spend a ton on HDMI cables. Use sites like monoprice.com.
- You can receive some free channels over-the-air with a standard roof antenna (and in some cases indoor antennas)
- Standard television looks awful on LCD/plasma. Stick with a CRT unless you plan on adding HD programming.
- As of 2007, blu-ray and HD DVD's are still battling the format war. The cheapest players are in the $250-$400 range.